§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the annual cost of implementing the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq since RAF military overflights began; how many bombs have been dropped on Iraq by British aircraft over this period; and what United Nations resolutions give authority for the policing of the no-fly zone. [75981]
§ Mr. IngramOur records do not separately identify expenditure incurred in maintaining the no-fly zones. However, the table sets out the overall additional expenditure incurred by the Ministry of Defence as a direct result of operations in the Gulf from 1992–93 onwards. 705W
£million Additional expenditure 1992–93 551 1993–94 179 1994–95 58 1995–96 14 1996–97 6 1997–98 16 1998–99 35 1999–2000 28 2000–01 25 2001–021 222 1 Estimate. 2 Calculated on a resource basis; all previous figures are cash-based. The Royal Air Force aircraft patrolling the Iraqi no-fly zones had dropped 318 bombs during this period (to 30 September 2002), 52 of those weapons were released during Operation Desert Fox.
The Royal Air Force patrol the Iraqi no-fly zones in support of UN SCR 688, which demanded an end to Saddam's brutal repression of its own people.